Saving Frayser

A picture essay of the Frayser neighborhood in Memphis. See the people who are working to make it a better and safer community. Also, meet some of the people who call it home.

October 04, 2012 - Robert Maness (left) was arrested and charged with Burglary of a Building and Theft of Property following an early morning surprise visit by police in early October. Good police work led police to him and an accomplice, which resulted in their arrests. Frayser has one of the highest crime rates in the city. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 22, 2012 - Ronnie Mackin, Head of Schools, stops sixth grader, Antwan Wallace, in the halls of Westside Middle School. Mackin says he is changing the culture of the school to a no-nonsense nurturing and no excuses environment. Westside is one of three low performing schools, in the new Achievement School District, where the state is making an intervention. "We believe all children are able to succeed" said Mackin. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 21, 2012 - Community police officers spend time with the kids at a Frayser block party at the Ed Rice Community Center. In a proactive effort to fight crime at its roots, police build relationships with children who live in their community. Police hold camps, come to festivals and have activities through out the year, that the children enjoy. Building trust within a neighborhood helps officers fight crime in a wide variety of ways. (Karen Pulfer Focht/The Commercial Appeal)

August 15, 2012 - Rnyiha Garland, 3, witnesses the arrest of her uncle, as police ask questions in a follow up to a burglary. Her uncle, Mario Garland, had just been put in a police car and arrested for burglary. He was gunned down and killed a few weeks later. Frayser has one of the highest crime rates in the city. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 1, 2012 - Grandmother Larchena Jordan turned to her pastor Rickey Floyd at the Pursuit of God Church in Frayser when she felt overwhelmed by her life. Floyd believes that God is answering his prayers and is helping Frayser become a better community with the help of his ministry and others. Her grandson, Kameron Ward,5, is at her right. (Karen (KarenPulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 15, 2012 - Pastor Rickey Floyd walks the streets of Frayser in the early morning hours carrying a giant 40 lb. cross and as he prays for Frayser. When he arrives at what once was the thriving "gateway" to Frayser, on Watkins near the interstate, he drops to his knees and prays for Frayser and its people and the problems the community faces. He asks God help Frayser reflect "the image of God" and that Gods power may manifest in Frayser and transform lives. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 19, 2012 - Frayser experienced rapid growth in the 40's and 50's, so much so, it asked Memphis to annex it to help accommodate growth. Middle class families were looking to be close to several plants in the area. As those plants closed, Frayser began to experience decline. A growth in crime, gangs, teen pregnancy, blight and white flight prevailed. 80% of its remaining residents are African-American. Neighborhoods have been deteriorating ever since, but there is still a strong housing stock that has potential. There are many forces working to bring Frayser back. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

October 26, 2012 - Some residents who moved to Frayser during the population boom in the 50's, have chosen to stay. Many have put down roots, raised their families, grown gardens and invested in their properties. It is where they have their memories and where they feel most at home. Organizations like the Frayser Community Development Corporation believe neighborhoods can be resuscitated, that Frayser has much potential and is worth fighting for. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 22, 2012 - Theresa Bentley, a nurse at Baptist Hospital, has fond memories of growing up in Frayser and remembers it as a very close community where she chased fireflies as a child. She and some of her nurses reach out, to the community, in an effort to educate young girls and help battle the high rates of infant mortality. Rates in Frayser, are among the highest. She likes to tell the girls, "I am from here, ya'll listen to me." She visits Jer-Miya Gray, who was born early, at 28 weeks, to a teen mother, Andre-Veya Gray who is from Frayser. The two were getting ready to leave the hospital after an extended stay. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 14, 2012 - Dorothy Coscia lives in the home, built in 1905, that she was born in. She has 34 acres where she grows flowers, peaches, pecans, persimmons and walnuts in Frayser. Her home was once the site of a summer home belonging to Dr. John R. Frayser (1815-1888). He used the scenic hills of Frayser to escape the city where he once had an medical office on Union avenue. He was in Memphis during many epidemics, including yellow fever epidemics, and he cared for the sick. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 5, 2012 - LifeLine to Success is a second chance type program, based out of Frayser, that helps ex-offenders in their re-entry process. They can be seen around the city helping with blight patrol, cleaning properties and roadways. When they are not out cleaning up the city, they take classes about reentering society with goals, direction and are given a support system that enables them to become productive men and women. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 14, 2012 - Travis Jeffries comes to the Ed Rice Community Center and plays basketball several days a week with friends. Young men are encouraged and taught to become good citizens while they are there. While he takes a break, his nephew, Roderiqus Smith, touches his uncles prayer, which he had tatooed on his back. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 11, 2012 - Mannequins appear to be walking in the parking lot outside a clothing store in a strip mall in Frayser. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

October 26, 2012 - Residents have to stumble past filth and trash in many areas of Frayser. Vacant land is often unkempt or used for illegal dumping. The Frayser Community Environmental Court handles environmental violations of city and county ordinances, but problems still abound. Frayser was wanting to be annexed into Memphis in the 1940s and '50s, when Memphis was a regular winner of a national "cleanest city" award. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 19, 2012 - Spontaneous memorials with teddy bears, crosses and flowers dot the landscape of Frayser in memory of people who were killed in the community. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 11, 2012 - Virginia Allen,14, bows in prayer at an anti-gang rally outside North Frayser Community Center. She is a friend of "Uncle Joe" a reformed Detroit gang member, Joe Hunter, 47, operates G.A.N.G. -- Gospel at New Generation -- at the North Frayser Community Center. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 28, 2012 - Ben Gregory, 68, owns K&P Stables which is a 46 acre farm and home to 53 horses. His scenic farm is on the edge of Frayser off Watkins near Hwy. 51. The horses and a Donkey graze out in the meadow. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

July 31, 2012 - A quarter of the adults in Frayser do not have a high school diploma and only 6% have graduated from college according to the Frayser Community Development Corporation. The median household income in 2010 was $26,452. The average sale price of homes in 2011 had a sale price at $23,124. Frayser leads the state in forclosures. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 15, 2012 - Parents, kids and neighbors came out to a celebration at Youth Visions in Frayser. Youth Visions empowers youth to become leaders of leaders. They have a center for kids to hang out, play sports, learn and build relationships with positive influences. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 15, 2012 - Parents, kids and neighbors came out to a celebration at Youth Visions in Frayser. Youth Visions empowers youth to become leaders of leaders. They have a center for kids to hang out, play sports, learn and build relationships with positive influences. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 19, 2012 - Fullen Dock operates six docks in Frayser where they offload various cargo from all over the world, at the Port of Memphis. The thriving dock, is strategically placed on the banks of our nationÕs largest and longest river and has easy access to rail lines, interstates and highways. It is located on the west side of Frayser near the old International Harvester plant. Fullen Dock moved into Frayser, a few years before Harvester closed. The area hasn't fully recovered from Harvester closing to this day. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

October 26, 2012 - Marquino Douglas, 19, (center) is a junior at Lane College and he wants to go into theological school, when he graduates, and become a minister. On a recent visit home he came to spend time with some of the kids at Youth Visions, where his heart lies, during a football game. Youth Visions is where he learned how to be a leader. Ledarrius Lee at left. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 11, 2012 - Jeremiah Jones,10, said he met Uncle Joe Hunter, while "walking the streets with my home boys." He said Hunter then got him out of the gangs "by praying for me" he said. He spends his time at the North Frayser Community Center, where Hunter teaches the boys how to be good men and community members. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 19, 2012 - Fullen Dock operates six docks in Frayser where they offload various cargo from all over the world, at the Port of Memphis. The thriving dock, is strategically placed on the banks of our nationÕs largest and longest river and has easy access to rail lines, interstates and highways. It is located on the west side of Frayser near the old International Harvester plant. Fullen Dock moved into Frayser, a few years before Harvester closed. The area hasn't fully recovered from Harvester closing to this day. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

September 19, 2012 - A quarter of the adults in Frayser do not have a high school diploma and only 6% have graduated from college according to the Frayser Community Development Corporation. The median household income in 2010 was $26,452. The average sale price of homes in 2011 had a sale price at $23,124. Frayser leads the state in forclosures. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)

August 29, 2012 - Frayser borders the Loosahatchie and Wolf Rivers as they converge into the Mississippi River just north of Downtown Memphis. (Karen Pulfer Focht/ Commercial Appeal)